Taunton clergy look to God to help end heroin crisis

After realizing just how many Taunton residents were turning to heroin and suffering, or in some cases dying, about 250 citizens got together to turn to God for answers.

“We humbly come before you this evening because we recognize the importance that sometimes we need to go to God,” said the Rev. Farrar Walker, of the Baptist Church of All Nations, at the start of the vigil. “Sometimes we have to take the necessary steps if we want God to work in the situations that we face. I’m looking forward to this being a time of great prayer, of great witness and great transformation. Not just with a small group of individuals gathered here today, but with the transformation of Taunton, the state of Massachusetts, this country and this world.”

The Greater Taunton Clergy Association held An Interfaith Prayer Vigil: A Night of Healing on Sunday night at the Greater Baptist Church of All Nations on Winthrop Street, to hear inspiring prayers, sing special hymns and offer services to those in need.

“I think more people should be here,” said Sue Cyr, whose son Eric Cyr died from a heroin overdose in Taunton about two months ago. “It’s up to the people to get together to help with this. This is a way to get together, to get the help we need. All the people who are complaining that not enough is being done to stop this aren’t here. They’ve got to speak up. People have to come together to help each other.”

The Rev. James Tilbe, of the First Congregational Church in Raynham, said that the vigil was the result of a recent meeting of the clergy association, which brought up the recent surge in heroin overdoses that has been felt “so severely” in Taunton as well as other communities. In the last three months, there have been nine fatal heroin overdoses in Taunton and more than 130 total overdoses in the city, according to police.

“We thought, what can we do?” Tilbe told the crowd. “Of course, the immediate answer was, we can pray. We must pray. In addition to prayer, let’s gather and gather resources so that people who are struggling with addiction, their family, their friends, have some tools and some connections that can be helpful to them in defeating the power of addiction.”

After the prayer service, groups like Narcotics Anonymous, Community Counseling of Bristol County and the High Point Treatment Center, all invited to the event by the clergy association, offered their services and information to anyone in need and their loved ones.

City leaders like Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. attended the event in a show of support.

The prayer vigil featured prayers dedicated to families of addicts, to those who have lost loved ones to addiction, to the medical community, to law enforcement, for counselors and for the clergy. The diverse gathering featured words and songs by Unitarian Universalists, a rabbi from a local synagogue, a Spanish-language preacher and an ecumenical collection of reverends and priests.

“I was very glad to see that the clergy association chose to hold this,” said Rabbi Anne Heath, of the Congregation Agudath Achim in Taunton. “It was a groundswell at our meeting. We looked at the time and, like lots of people, schedules are full. But it was absolutely the right thing to do. It might have been easier to do it in May when Easter and Passover is over. But that’s not a response. We felt that this was a response to bring people together.”

During the prayer vigil, some church leaders talked about their personal experiences with drugs and the damage it has caused, before they found faith.

Marcia Richardson, of the Baptist Church of All Nations, was among the service providers and support groups that made themselves available after the meeting. Richardson is behind “Higher Ground,” which is a Christianity-based counseling group for people with drug problems, which was founded in 2006 at the church. Richardson said she and another person who struggled with drug abuse problems earlier in life, but have been clean for many years, started the group to help others in need.

“It’s difficult for people who are struggling with addiction,” Richardson said. “They come in feeling inadequate. Then, sometimes they come into the church and they are hurting. … We offer private counseling for individuals and outreach at detoxes to spread the word of God.”

The prayer service ended with a song, with everyone joining in on a refrain, “Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; when dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.”